Nutrien Earnings: Retail Business Rebounds to Begin Year

Nutrien's first-quarter results exemplified our view that the retail business would see profits rebound in 2024 as fertilizer prices and crop chemicals demand stabilized. In 2023, the typically stable retail business saw a 38% segment EBITDA decline due to falling fertilizer prices that compressed margins due to the lag between when the retail business buys and sells fertilizer and lower farmer purchases of crop chemicals as farmers used up excess inventory. In the first quarter, the retail business generated segment EBITDA of $77 million, up from a $34 million loss in the prior-year quarter.